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Friday, February 22, 2008

Strong characters

With the latest buzz about the decreasing desire for Rambo-esq heroines, (yeah, I'm still giddy) I started wondering about female mc's.

We want strong characters but when creating this person, how do you, the author, determine their DNA? Certainly, what one person interprets as strong, another person may find annoying.

Recently, I heard lots of hullabaloo about a certain character. When I read the book, I found myself rooting for this woman's demise. The more painful, the better as far as I was concerned. When she finally met with destruction, I cheered--loudly. From my prospective, this was the perfect place to end the book. I know this reaction was not want the author intended.

I think we have to see a character's vulnerability as well as their strength. This could be pivotal in creating endearing characters that can lead us anywhere and we will not be swayed. Take the reader to the brink, but after they have established this relationship with the reader. When you do this, I'm certain readers will try to jump in the page to avenge the wrong done to this character.